BOONEVILLE — Mississippi Gulf Coast’s cold shooting from the 3-point line doomed them Tuesday against a Northeast Mississippi team that dominated the free-throw line.

 

The Bulldogs lost 77-63 at Bonner Arnold Coliseum after the No. 23 Tigers got to the line 36 times to Gulf Coast’s 10.

 

“It was a tight game,” Gulf Coast coach Tim Ryan said. “I thought they got their separation around the six-minute mark. They got two 3’s from two non-shooters. We were down by three and that made it a nine-point game. We couldn’t recover.”

 

Gulf Coast (17-8) led 29-26 at halftime and were up by the same margin when Dontavius Proby (So., Biloxi/Biloxi) slashed across the lane for a 50-47 advantage.

 

The Tigers (23-5) scored their next five points at the free-throw line, starting a run of 12 straight makes. They finished 26-of-36 from the line, while the Bulldogs were 5-of-10 despite outscoring the Tigers 46-22 in the paint.

 

The Bulldogs trailed 57-54 after two more Tiger free throws with 6:30 left, and they got the two big 3’s in the next 90 seconds.

 

Proby led Gulf Coast with 13 points.

 

“Proby has been like that all year for us, coming off the bench and being a spark,” Ryan said. “A big reason we liked him coming off the bench was nobody gave us that energy coming off the bench he does. He ended with a terrific game and had a good season.”

 

Lee Flenor (So., South Miami/Miami, Fla.) had a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double. Donovan Sanders (Fr., Lake Cormorant/Walls) had 11 points and six rebounds.

 

Gulf Coast made just 4-of-25 attempts from behind the arc, yet still shot 42 percent from the field.

 

“We had a great group of kids who went really hard all season. We couldn’t get it done when we needed to get it done on the defensive side on the road. As a team, they were a pleasure to coach. They had a huge improvement from last year. Last year, we won six games. This year, we won 17 which is a big deal. It was a pleasure coaching them.”

 

 

NJCAA Region 23 Men’s Basketball Tournament

First Round

Friday, Feb. 25

No. 16 Delgado 2, No. 17 Coahoma 0 (forfeit)

Saturday, Feb. 26

No. 14 Baton Rouge 77, No. 19 Mississippi Delta 61

No. 18 East Central 90, No. 15 Copiah-Lincoln 85

Second Round

Monday, Feb. 28

No. 1 Pearl River 93, No. 16 Delgado

No. 2 Northeast Mississippi 75, No. 18 East Central 65

No. 3 Meridian 62, No. 14 Baton Rouge 48

No. 4 East Mississippi 59, No. 13 Itawamba 55

No. 5 LSU Eunice 83, No. 12 Hinds 67

No. 6 Jones 97, No. 11 Southern-Shreveport 70

No. 7 Gulf Coast 92, No. 10 Holmes 72

No. 8 Northwest Mississippi 82, No. 9 Southwest Mississippi

Second Round

Tuesday, March 1

Games played at highest-seeded team

No. 1 Pearl River 63, No. 8 Northwest 44

No. 2 Northeast 77, No. 7 Gulf Coast 63

No. 3 Meridian 67, No. 6 Jones 50

No. 5 LSU Eunice 76, No. 4 East Mississippi 73

 

For more information on MGCCC’s 10 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.